A transparent conductor permits the transmission of light while providing a conductive path for an electric current to flow through a device including the transparent conductor. Traditionally, a transparent conductor is formed as a coating of a doped metal oxide, such as tin-doped indium oxide (or ITO), which is disposed on top of a glass or plastic film substrate. ITO coatings are typically formed through the use of a dry process, such as through the use of specialized physical vapor deposition (e.g., sputtering) or specialized chemical vapor deposition techniques. The resulting coating can exhibit good transparency and good electrical conductivity. However, drawbacks to such techniques include high cost, high process complexity, intensive energy requirements, high capital expenditures for equipment, and poor productivity.
It is against this background that a need arose to develop the transparent conductors and related manufacturing methods described herein.